From March Next Year, Nationwide LTE-Based 'Jaenan Safety Communication Network' Available... World's First

Ministry of the Interior and Safety Completes Phase 2 Southern Region Project ... Phase 3 Seoul Metropolitan Area to Finish by Year-End

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The disaster safety communication network, which allows disaster response agencies such as fire departments, police, and coast guard to communicate on a single network, will be expanded nationwide starting March next year. South Korea is the first country in the world to officially operate a disaster safety communication network based on 4th generation wireless communication technology (LTE).

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 3rd that among the three phases of the disaster safety communication network construction project, which has been actively promoted since 2018, the second phase covering the southern region was completed last September, and the final third phase for the metropolitan area is currently underway.

Once the disaster safety communication network is established, it is expected that in the event of a large-scale disaster, response agencies such as the National Police Agency, the Fire Agency, and local governments will be able to communicate smoothly using a single communication network.

Previously, the National Police Agency, Fire Agency, and local governments used very high frequency (VHF), ultra high frequency (UHF) radios, and trunked radio systems (TRS) separately, which caused difficulties in sharing information and responding promptly during emergencies.

The disaster safety communication network construction project is a large-scale national project with a total budget of 1.5 trillion won, carried out in three phases in the order of central region, southern region, and metropolitan area.

The police are already conducting pilot operations in the first phase areas including Daejeon, Sejong, Gangwon, and Chungcheong regions, and the communication network has been expanded to the southern region in the second phase. Once the metropolitan area construction is completed by March next year, a nationwide network will be established, enabling full-scale disaster safety communication network services.

In particular, through the second phase project, a three-center system has been established with operation centers in Seoul, Daegu, and Jeju , so even if one center stops or its operation is interrupted due to power outages or equipment failures, the communication network can continue to operate without disruption. Additionally, by applying base station sharing technology to allow the use of maritime and railway networks and frequency (radio wave) sharing without mutual interference, the communication coverage area has been expanded.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to build a development and test environment (Test-Bed) for the utilization, expansion, and future industry promotion of the disaster safety communication network in cooperation with the National Information Society Agency, and will open it to user agencies and private companies.

Ahn Young-gyu, Director of Disaster Management at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said, "We will complete the third phase construction in the metropolitan area by March next year and officially start operating the world's first nationwide LTE-based disaster safety communication network. We will also ensure that the benefits of the project, such as increased usage, are realized early in line with the nationwide network operation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.